CERTAINTEED, APACHE SEAL PVC PIPE DEAL

Rumors about a possible purchase abounded for weeks, but CertainTeed waited until a May 1 news release to announce the deal. The companies did not release terms.

CertainTeed, a subsidiary of Paris-based Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, is one of the leading plastic extruders in North America. The company reported $481 million in North American extrusion sales for 1996, placing it at the top of Plastics News' ranking of pipe, profile and tubing extruders.

Apache, with about $40 million in annual sales, employs 150 and operates 25 extrusion lines at three California sites. Its plants in Lodi and Santa Ana will become part of CertainTeed. The release did not address the fate of Apache's Lindsay plant.

``It is our intention to grow the existing Apache brand of specialty pipe products and add capacity for well casing ... and fence products at Lodi,'' Lloyd Ambler, president of CertainTeed's pipe division, said in the release.

CertainTeed also plans to use Apache's relatively new Lodi facility as a distribution center for its vinyl fence, deck and railing products.

Apache President Lawrence Beasley could not be reached.

Apache has been for sale since 1995. Beasley at the time said he was looking for a partner to help fend off competitors with deep, offshore pockets. In recent years non-U.S. firms have acquired a slew of pipe industry companies.

CertainTeed of Valley Forge, Pa., also could fit into that

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